


Peppermint Lullaby

by morganoconner



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-13
Updated: 2010-05-13
Packaged: 2017-10-18 06:39:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/186071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganoconner/pseuds/morganoconner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam needs something to cuddle.  Gabriel is happy to provide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Peppermint Lullaby

The first time, it’s a bear.

Sam wakes from a particularly bloody nightmare, and he’s shaking and sweating and gasping into his pillow for long moments before he realizes his arm is encircling something ridiculously soft and cuddly that he definitely doesn’t remember falling asleep with. He drags the thing out from where it’s tucked half underneath him and squints at it in the dim pre-dawn light coming in from a crack in the curtains.

It’s an eye-watering shade of pink, is the first thing he notices. The second is that it smells just faintly of peppermint. And it’s also the softest thing he’s ever felt, the kind of soft you just want to hold onto for a long time because it feels so good.

In fact, he is still holding onto the bear when he falls back to sleep, has it tucked up against him, nestled under his arm, under the blankets so Dean won’t see it.

And if the cuddly little teddy bear finds a permanent home in his bag next to the knives and guns and extra rounds of rock salt, well, he’s the only one who has to know.

~

  
The second time, weeks later, it’s a kitten.

Halloween is a bad time for Sam, but then, there are a lot of days that are bad for Sam now, memories of things he’s done crowding into his head and screaming there, leaving blood and ashes and sulfur in their wake. Some nights, he knows better than to try and sleep. Some nights, exhaustion takes him anyway and he’s left to the mercy of the nightmares.

When he claws his way back this time, his face is buried in soft fur and the smell of candy, and he clutches at the stuffed animal before it even registers that it’s not the bear this time.

The cat is black as midnight, and has ears the insides of which are designed to look like candy corn. Complete with an orange nose and black eyes and whiskers, it’s again one of the softest, most cuddle-worthy things Sam has ever felt, and he clutches it tighter and drifts back to sleep with a tiny smile on his face.

~

  
Dean’s not an idiot, despite Bobby’s assurances otherwise, and he does eventually find the plush toys at the bottom of Sam’s bag. He mocks him for days, but they still smell like peppermint, and they still help him sleep on the particularly bad nights, and Sam can’t bring himself to care. He just rolls his eyes, flips Dean the bird, and pads into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

~

  
The third time is the worst, on the anniversary of the final battle, and when Sam jars awake, a strangled sob in his throat and his eyes streaming, he doesn’t think the ridiculous unicorn in his arms is going to cut it this time, no matter how soft or sweet-smelling. Still, he clutches it tightly as he trembles, fervently wishing he were holding onto something – _someone_ – else.

There’s a catch of breath behind him and he turns swiftly, just in time to see Gabriel pull his hand back and try to hide the look in his honey-colored eyes. The look that’s both fiercely protective and desperately longing. “Gabriel,” he whispers, his voice raw and sleep-heavy.

“I should go,” the archangel says, backing away. He gestures at the plush toy still in Sam’s arm. “Just…they seem to help sometimes, so I figured…”

Sam sits up and gently places the unicorn on the floor next to his bag before he reaches out and grasps Gabriel’s wrist, tugging him back to the bed. “They’re nice,” he murmurs, the words coming out a bit slurred. “Cuddly.” He tugs a little harder, and Gabriel drops down beside him, looking a little lost, and more than a little anxious. “Rather have you.” He shifts over on the small bed and pulls the archangel down next to him, draping an arm across him and nuzzling into his neck.

Slowly, very, very slowly, Gabriel relaxes and curls more firmly around Sam, one hand coming up to card through the hunter’s hair. Sam hums a little, smiling as he starts to fall asleep again, the smell of peppermint his personal lullaby, and Gabriel, the angel watching over him.


End file.
